Amusement ride targets

ABSTRACT

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may include an operating system of an amusement ride. In certain implementations, the apparatus may illuminate a first target associated with a first vehicle for a first time period and a second target associated with a second vehicle for the first time period. The apparatus may determine that a first interaction with the first target occurs before a second interaction with the second target. The apparatus may determine whether the first interaction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle. The apparatus may increment a first counter associated with the first vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of Italian Application Serial No.102018000006284, entitled “AMUSEMENT RIDE TARGETS” and filed on Jun. 13,2018, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to one or more amusement ride targets.

Background

Various amusement rides have been created to provide passengers withunique motion and visual experiences, including roller coasters, bumpercars, theme rides, and simulators. Amusement rides typically have thelimitation of having a fixed ride objective and/or experience. As aresult, riders may become familiar with the ride, which may limits theexcitement of the user experience.

There is a need to change the objective of certain amusement rides inorder to increase the variability, and hence, the excitement of theride.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Amusement rides in which riders interact with one another typically havethe limitation of having a fixed objective. Bumper cars are one suchride that that has for decades had a fixed objective—namely, bumpinginto other cars. As a result, passengers can become familiar with theride, which may limits the excitement of the user experience. There is aneed to change the objective of amusement rides, such as bumper cars, inorder to increase the variability, and hence, the excitement of theride.

The present disclosure provides a solution by changing the objective ofcertain amusement rides, such as bumper cars, by including illuminatedtargets that the riders may try to bump into in order to receive one ormore points. For example, the riders may be split into two team, e.g.,the red team and the blue team. The members of the red team attempt tobump into the red targets to receive one or more points while themembers of the blue team attempt to bump into the blue targets toreceive one or more points.

By including illuminated targets, the ride objective of bumper cars maybe changed, which may increase the ride variability, and hence, theexcitement of the ride as compared to a ride with a fixed objective.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium,and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may include an operatingsystem of an amusement ride. In certain implementations, the apparatusmay illuminate a first target associated with a first vehicle for afirst time period and a second target associated with a second vehiclefor the first time period. The apparatus may determine that a firstinteraction with the first target occurs before a second interactionwith the second target. The apparatus may determine whether the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle orthe second vehicle. The apparatus may increment a first counterassociated with the first vehicle upon determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle.

In certain other implementations, the apparatus may illuminate at leastone target of the plurality of targets. The apparatus may determine thata first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles interacts with the at leastone target while illuminated. The apparatus may increment a counterassociated with the first vehicle upon determining that the firstvehicle interacts with the at least one target while illuminated.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an amusement ride inaccordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an amusement ride inaccordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of an amusement ride inaccordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of an amusement ride inaccordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an amusement ride inaccordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C are a flowchart of a method of operating an amusement ride.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementationfor an apparatus employing a processing system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method of operating an amusement ride.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of amusement ride systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits,processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”).These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computersoftware, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements areimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software components, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage mediamay be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise arandom-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of theaforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other mediumthat can be used to store computer executable code in the form ofinstructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

Amusement rides in which riders interact with one another typically havethe limitation of having a fixed objective. Bumper cars are one suchride that has for decades had a fixed objective—namely, bumping intoother cars. As a result, passengers can become familiar with the ride,which may limits the excitement of the user experience. There is a needto change the objective of amusement rides, such as bumper cars, inorder to increase the variability, and hence, the excitement of theride.

The present disclosure provides a solution by changing the objective ofcertain amusement rides, such as bumper cars, by including illuminatedtargets that the riders may try to bump into in order to receive one ormore points. For example, the riders may be split into two team, e.g.,the red team and the blue team. The members of the red team attempt tobump into the red targets to receive one or more points while themembers of the blue team attempt to bump into the blue targets toreceive one or more points.

By enabling the amusement ride to change the ride objective usingilluminated targets, an amusement ride system of the present disclosuremay be able to increase the variability, and hence, the excitement ofthe ride as compared to a ride with a convention ride objective withoutincurring a great expense to update the ride, e.g., as described belowin connection with any of FIGS. 1-10.

FIG. 1 illustrates an amusement ride 100 in accordance with certainaspects of the disclosure. The example amusement ride 100 illustrated inFIG. 1 may include an operating system 102, a plurality of targets 104located around the perimeter of the amusement ride 100, a vehicle 108associated with a first team of riders, two vehicles 110 a, 110 bassociated with a second team of riders, and a display 112. The vehicle108 may correspond to, e.g., first vehicle 208, 308 650, second vehicle210, 310, 660, 960, third vehicle 214, vehicle 408. The vehicle 110 amay correspond to, e.g., first vehicle 208, 655, second vehicle 210,660, third vehicle 214, vehicle 408. The vehicle 110 b may correspondto, e.g., first vehicle 208, 655, 955, second vehicle 210, 660, 960,third vehicle 214, the vehicle 408. The vehicle 110 b may correspond to,e.g., first vehicle 208, 655, 955, second vehicle 210, 660, 960, thirdvehicle 214, the vehicle 408. The operating system 102 may correspondto, e.g., operating system 202, 302, the apparatus 602/602′, 902/902′.The targets 104, 106 may correspond to, e.g., the target 204, 206 a, 206b, 206 c, 222 a, 222 b, 304, 306, 408, 650, 950.

For illustrative purposes, the amusement ride 100 in FIG. 1 isillustrated as a bumper car ride with three vehicles. However, it shouldbe understood that the amusement ride 100 may include any type ofamusement ride which involves user interaction without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure. For example, the amusement ride 100may include a water ride, a virtual reality ride, bumper boats, or amotion ride, just to name a few. The number of vehicles is not limitedto three, and may include more or three vehicles on any number of teamswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the operating system 102 may send a signal (e.g.,wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets 106 for illumination. Thetargets 106 may be illuminated using, e.g., a light emitting device (notshown) that may be located in, on, or near the target 106. The lightemitting device may emit one or more different colors of light that. Forexample, the light emitting device may include, e.g., one or more lightemitting diodes. The targets 106 may be illuminated for a predeterminedduration (e.g., 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.), and the objectmay be to beat the other teams to one of the illuminated targets 106.When one of the vehicles bumps into an illuminated target 106, thatparticular team may receive a point that may be visible on the display112.

There may be various ways in which the operating system 102 is able todetermine which vehicle or which team interacted with the illuminatedtarget 106 in order increase a counter on the display 112 associatedwith that team or vehicle.

In certain implementations, the operating system 102 may receive asensor signal from the second vehicle 110 b associated with the secondteam and a signal from a sensor on the target 106 that was bumped. Thesensor may include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag thatsends an identifier associated with second vehicle 110 b in the secondteam that is received by a receiver device at the target 106. The RFIDinformation may then be sent to the operating system 102. In certainaspects, the operating system 102 may access a look-up table thatcorrelates the RFID identifiers to the various vehicles on each team.One or more points may then be rewarded to the team and/or vehicleassociated with the RFID identifier received by the target during aninteraction (e.g., bump) by the second vehicle 110 b.

In certain other implementations the operating system 102 may include animage device (not shown), such as a camera, that may be used to trackthe position of each of the vehicles 108, 110 a, 110 b. The operatingsystem 102 may then use the position information determined from thevisual signals received from the image device to determine to which teamor vehicle 110 b to reward point(s).

In certain other implementations, each vehicle 108, 110 a, 110 b mayinclude a position sensor (e.g., a gyroscope, an accelerometer, aspeedometer, a positioning sensor, a camera, or a proximity sensor, justto name a few) that may collect position information about itsparticular position that is sent (e.g., wired, wirelessly, etc.) to theoperating system 102. The operating system 102 may then use the positioninformation determined from the position signals received from theposition sensor on each of the vehicles 108, 110 a, 110 b to determineto which team or vehicle 110 b to reward point(s).

The illuminated targets 106 may be illuminated any color, and either thesame color or different colors without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. In the particular example illustrated in FIG. 1, thetargets 106 are illuminated the same color, and both teams race to bumpinto one or more of the illuminated targets 106.

Certain additional and/or optional aspects, the operating system 102 mayilluminate a strobe light when an illuminated target is bumped, emit anoise when one of the targets is bumped, and/or activating a fog machinewhen an illuminated target is bumped.

FIG. 2 illustrates an amusement ride 200 in accordance with certainaspects of the disclosure. The example amusement ride 200 illustrated inFIG. 2 may include an operating system 202, a plurality of targets 204located around the perimeter of the amusement ride 200, a first vehicle208 associated with a first team of riders, a second vehicle 210associated with a second team of riders, a third vehicle 214 associatedwith a third team of riders, and a display 212. The first vehicle 208may correspond to, e.g., first vehicle 308, 655, 955, second vehicle110, 310, 660, 960, third vehicle 314, vehicle 408. The second vehicle210 may correspond to, e.g., first vehicle 108, 655, second vehicle 660,third vehicle 314, vehicle 408. The third vehicle 214 may correspond to,e.g., first vehicle 108, 655, 955, second vehicle 660, 960, thirdvehicle 214, the vehicle 110 a, 110 b, 408. The operating system 202 maycorrespond to, e.g., operating system 102, 302, the apparatus 602/602′,902/902′. The targets 204, 206 a, 206 b, 206 c, 222 a, 222 b maycorrespond to, e.g., the target 104, 106, 304, 306, 408, 650, 950. Inthe particular example illustrated in FIG. 2, the first vehicle 208 maybe associated with the color red, the second vehicle 210 may beassociated with the color blue, and the third vehicle 214 may beassociated with the color yellow.

Referring to FIG. 2, the operating system 202 may send a signal (e.g.,wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 c forillumination. The targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 c may be illuminated using,e.g., a light emitting device (not shown) that may be located in, on, ornear each of the targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 c. The light emitting devicemay emit one or more different colors of light that. For example, thelight emitting device may include, e.g., one or more light emittingdiodes. The targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 c may be illuminated one of thecolors (e.g., red, blue, yellow) associated with each of the threeteams. The targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 c may illuminated a first set ofcolors for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 5 seconds, 10seconds, etc.), and the object may be to beat the other teams to thetarget that is illuminated with that team's color. For example, thefirst vehicle 208 may attempt to interact (e.g., bump) into the firsttarget 206 a that is illuminated red, the second vehicle 210 may attemptto interact (e.g., bump) into the second target 206 b that isilluminated blue, and the second vehicle 210 may attempt to interact(e.g., bump) into the third target 206 c that is illuminated blue. Whenone of the vehicles bumps into the associated target, that particularteam may receive a point that may be visible on the display 212. Afterthe predetermined duration expires, the operating system 202 may sendone or more signal(s) to the same or different targets to be illuminatedso that the vehicles race to different areas of the ride.

However, when a vehicle bumps into a target that is not illuminated thecolor associated with that team, the vehicle that interacts with theincorrect target may be penalized in one or more various manners. Asshown in FIG. 2, the third vehicle 214 (e.g., the yellow team) bumpsinto the first target 206 a that is illuminated red. Hence, theoperating system 202 may send a signal to the third vehicle 214 thatdisables the third vehicle 214 for a predetermined period of time. Oncea timer expires, the operating system 202 may a subsequent signal thatenables the third vehicle's 214 motor. Additionally and/oralternatively, when the third vehicle 214 (e.g., the yellow team) bumpsinto the first target 206 a that is illuminated red, the operatingsystem 202 may send a signal to the third vehicle 214 that causes thethird vehicle 214 to vibrate and/or shake for a predetermined period oftime. Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, upon determining that thecorrect vehicle correctly bumped into the corresponding target, theoperating system 202 may send a signal to the other vehicles to disabletheir motors and/or activate vibrating devices on those other vehicles.

In certain implementations, the operating system 202 may send a signalthat disables or vibrates all vehicles that do not reach theirassociated target prior to one of the other competing vehicles reachingits respective target(s) first. The first vehicle to reach itsrespective target receives a reward point that is visible on the display212.

Additionally and/or alternatively, images 222 a, 222 b may be displayedon the floor or on one of the targets and the vehicles 208, 210, 214race to drive over them or bump into them first. The operating system202 may reward points to the vehicle that interacts with one of theimages 222 a, 222 b first or different numbers of reward points may begiven by the operating system 202 depending on the image. Although theimages 222 a, 222 b are depicted as fruit in FIG. 2, it should beunderstood that the images 222 a, 222 b are not limited to fruit, andmay include any image without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an amusement ride 300, 301 in accordance withcertain aspects of the disclosure. The example amusement ride 300, 301illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B may include an operating system 302, aplurality of targets 304 located around the perimeter of the amusementride 300, a first vehicle 308 associated with a first team of riders, asecond vehicle 310 associated with a second team of riders, and adisplay 312. The first vehicle 308 may correspond to, e.g., firstvehicle 208, 655, 955, second vehicle 110 a, 110 b, 310, 660, 960, thirdvehicle 314, vehicle 108, 408. The second vehicle 310 may correspond to,e.g., first vehicle 108, 655, 955, second vehicle 110 b, 110 a, 660,960, third vehicle 314, vehicle 408. The operating system 302 maycorrespond to, e.g., operating system 202, the apparatus 602/602′,902/902′. The targets 304, 306 may correspond to, e.g., the target 104,106, 204, 206 a, 206 b, 206 c, 222 a, 222 b, 408, 650, 950. In theparticular example illustrated in FIG. 3A, the first vehicle 308 mayinclude a first output device 318 that can change colors depending on asignal received from the operating system 202. The second vehicle 310may include a second output device 320 that can change colors dependingon a signal received from the operating system 202. FIG. 3A illustratesa first duration in which the targets 306 a, 306 b and output devices318, 320 are illuminated a first set of colors, and FIG. 3B illustratesa second duration in which the targets 306 a, 306 b and output device318, 320 are illuminated a second set of colors.

Referring to FIG. 3A, during the first duration, the operating system202 may send a signal (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets306 a (e.g., illuminate red) and 306 b (e.g., illuminate blue) forillumination. The operating system 302 may also send one or more signalsto the first output device 318 to illuminate the color blue, and to thesecond output device 320 to illuminate red. Hence, for this round of thegame, the first vehicle 308 may try to reach the first target 306 aprior to the second vehicle 310 reaching the second target 306 b. may berewarded and displayed for the team that reaches the correct targetfirst.

Referring to FIG. 3B, during the second duration, the operating system202 may send a signal (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets306 a (e.g., illuminate blue) and 306 b (e.g., illuminate red) forillumination. The operating system 302 may also send one or more signalsto the first output device 318 to illuminate the color red, and to thesecond output device 320 to illuminate blue. Hence, for this round ofthe game, the first vehicle 308 may try to reach the first target 306 aprior to the second vehicle 310 reaching the second target 306 b. Eachtime the output device's 318, 320 changes, the vehicles try to reach(e.g., interact, bump, etc.) a target illuminated the same color as thatparticular vehicle's output device. Reward points may be rewarded anddisplayed for the team that reaches the correct target first.

FIG. 4 illustrates an amusement ride 400 in accordance with certainaspects of the disclosure. The example amusement ride 400 illustrated inFIG. 4 may include an operating system (not illustrated), a plurality oftargets 404 (one of which is illustrated for simplicity) located aroundan external platform 412 of the amusement ride 400, a sensor 410 locatedbetween the external platform 412 and the target 404. The sensor 410 maythat is connected with the operating system via a wired and/or wirelessconnection. The first vehicle 408 may correspond to, e.g., first vehicle108, 655, 955, second vehicle 110 a, 110 b, 310, 660, 960, third vehicle314. The targets 408 may correspond to, e.g., the target 104, 106, 204,206 a, 206 b, 206 c, 222 a, 222 b, 304, 306, 650, 950. The targets 408may be illuminated using, e.g., a light emitting device (not shown) thatmay be located in, on, or near each of the targets 404. The lightemitting device may emit one or more different colors of light that. Forexample, the light emitting device may include, e.g., one or more lightemitting diodes. The targets 404 may be illuminated one of the colors(e.g., red, blue, yellow) associated with each of the three teams. Thetargets 404 may illuminated for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.), and the object may be to beat theother teams to the target that is illuminated with that team's color.For example, the vehicle 408 may attempt to interact (e.g., bump) intothe target. The interaction with the target 404 may be detected with anRFID device located at the target 404/sensor 410 and the vehicle 408.Additionally and/or alternatively, the sensor 410 may include a pressuresensor that detects when the vehicle 408 hits the target 404. The sensor410 may send a signal with or without vehicle information indicatingthat the target 404 has be bumped (e.g., interacted with).

By enabling the amusement ride to change the ride objective usingilluminated targets, as described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4 andbelow in connection with FIGS. 5A-10, an amusement ride of the presentdisclosure may be able to increase the variability, and hence, theexcitement of the ride as compared to a ride with a convention rideobjective without incurring a great expense to update the ride.

FIGS. 5A-5C are a flowchart 500 of a method of operating an amusementride. The method may be performed by an operating system (e.g.,operating system 102, 202, 302, the apparatus 602/602′, 902/902′). InFIGS. 5A-5C, optional operations are indicated with dashed lines.

Referring to FIG. 5A, at 502, the operating system may illuminate afirst target associated with a first vehicle for a first time period anda second target associated with a second vehicle for the first timeperiod. In certain aspects, a plurality of targets are located around aperimeter of the amusement ride. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may include an illumination device configured toemit a plurality of different colors. In certain other aspects, theplurality of targets located around the perimeter of the amusement ridemay include at least the first target and the second target. In certainother aspects, the first target may illuminated a first color for thefirst time period and the second target is illuminated a second colorfor the first time period. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may be coupled to an external platform via one ormore sensors located between each of the plurality of targets and theexternal platform. In certain other aspects, the first target includes afirst image displayed on a ground surface or a wall surface of theamusement ride and the second target includes a second image displayedon displayed on the ground surface or the wall surface of the amusementride. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the targets 206 a, 206 b, 206 cmay illuminated a first set of colors for a predetermined duration(e.g., 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.), and the object may be tobeat the other teams to the target that is illuminated with that team'scolor. For example, the first vehicle 208 may attempt to interact (e.g.,bump) into the first target 206 a that is illuminated red, the secondvehicle 210 may attempt to interact (e.g., bump) into the second target206 b that is illuminated blue, and the second vehicle 210 may attemptto interact (e.g., bump) into the third target 206 c that is illuminatedblue.

At 504, the operating system may receive video data associated with thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle. For example, referring to FIG. 1,the operating system 102 may include an image device (not shown), suchas a camera, that may be used to track the position of each of thevehicles 108, 110 a, 110 b. In this implementation, a signal may be sentfrom the illuminated target when the second vehicle 110 b of the secondteam hits the target 106. The operating system 102 may then use theposition information determined from the visual signals received fromthe image device to determine to which team or vehicle 110 b to rewardpoint(s).

At 506, the operating system may receive a sensor signal from the firstvehicle or the second vehicle during the first interaction with thefirst target. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operating system 102may receive a sensor signal from the second vehicle 110 b associatedwith the second team. The sensor may include a RFID tag that sends anidentifier associated with second vehicle 110 b in the second team thatis received by a receiver device at the target 106. The RFID informationmay then be sent to the operating system 102.

At 508, the operating system may receive at least one first positionsignal from the first vehicle and at least one second position signalfrom the second vehicle. For example, referring to FIG. 1, each vehicle108, 110 a, 110 b may include a position sensor (e.g., a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a speedometer, a positioning sensor, a camera, or aproximity sensor, just to name a few) that may collect positioninformation about its particular position that is sent (e.g., wired,wirelessly, etc.) to the operating system 102.

At 510, the operating system may receive a first signal from a firstsensor associated with the first target and a second signal from asecond sensor associated with the second target. In certain aspects, thefirst signal from the first sensor associated with the first target maybe received prior to the second signal from the second sensor associatedwith the second target in determining the first vehicle interacted withthe first target. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the interaction withthe target 404 may be detected with an RFID device located at the target404/sensor 410 and the vehicle 408. Additionally and/or alternatively,the sensor 410 may include a pressure sensor that detects when thevehicle 408 hits the target 404. The sensor 410 may send a signal withor without vehicle information indicating that the target 404 has bebumped (e.g., interacted with).

Referring to FIG. 5B, at 512, the operation system may determine that afirst interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target. For example, referring to FIG. 1,the operating system 102 may receive a signal from a sensor on thetarget 106 that was bumped but not a signal from a target that was notbumped before the expiration of a timer. If both targets are bumped, thesignal that reaches the operating system 102 first may be determined asthe team that wins the point.

At 514, the operating system 512 may determine that a first interactionwith the first target occurs before a second interaction with the secondtarget by determining that the first interaction with the first targetis performed by the first vehicle when the sensor signal is associatedwith the first vehicle. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operatingsystem 102 may receive a signal from a sensor on the target 106 that wasbumped but not a signal from a target that was not bumped before theexpiration of a timer. If both targets are bumped, the signal thatreaches the operating system 102 first may be determined as the teamthat wins the point.

At 516, the operating system may determine that a first interaction withthe first target occurs before a second interaction with the secondtarget by determining that the first interaction with the first targetis performed by the second vehicle when the sensor signal is associatedwith the second vehicle. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operatingsystem 102 may receive a signal from a sensor on the target 106 that wasbumped but not a signal from a target that was not bumped before theexpiration of a timer. If both targets are bumped, the signal thatreaches the operating system 102 first may be determined as the teamthat wins the point.

At 518, the operating system may determine whether the first interactionwith the first target is performed by the first vehicle or the secondvehicle. For example, referring to FIG. 1, In certain implementations,the operating system 102 may receive a sensor signal from the secondvehicle 110 b associated with the second team and a signal from a sensoron the target 106 that was bumped. The sensor may include a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag that sends an identifier associatedwith second vehicle 110 b in the second team that is received by areceiver device at the target 106. The RFID information may then be sentto the operating system 102. In certain aspects, the operating system102 may access a look-up table that correlates the RFID identifiers tothe various vehicles on each team. One or more points may then berewarded to the team and/or vehicle associated with the RFID identifierreceived by the target during an interaction (e.g., bump) by the secondvehicle 110 b. In certain other implementations the operating system 102may include an image device (not shown), such as a camera, that may beused to track the position of each of the vehicles 108, 110 a, 110 b.The operating system 102 may then use the position informationdetermined from the visual signals received from the image device todetermine to which team or vehicle 110 b to reward point(s). In certainother implementations, each vehicle 108, 110 a, 110 b may include aposition sensor (e.g., a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a speedometer, apositioning sensor, a camera, or a proximity sensor, just to name a few)that may collect position information about its particular position thatis sent (e.g., wired, wirelessly, etc.) to the operating system 102.

Upon determining (at 518) that the first vehicle interacts with thefirst target, the operation may move to 520. Otherwise, upon determining(at 520) that the second vehicle interacts with the first target, theoperation may move to 526.

At 520, the operating system may increment a first counter associatedwith the first vehicle upon determining that the first interaction withthe first target is performed by the first vehicle. For example,referring to FIG. 1, there may be various ways in which the operatingsystem 102 is able to determine which vehicle or which team interactedwith the illuminated target 106 in order increase a counter on thedisplay 112 associated with that team or vehicle as described supra.

At 522, the operating system may disable a motor associated with thesecond vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the first vehicle. For example, referringto FIG. 2, upon determining that the correct vehicle correctly bumpedinto the corresponding target, the operating system 202 may send asignal to the other vehicles to disable their motors and/or activatevibrating devices on those other vehicles.

At 524, the operating system may enable the motor associated with thesecond vehicle upon an expiration of a timer. For example, referring toFIG. 2, once a timer expires, the operating system 202 may a subsequentsignal that enables the third vehicle's 214 motor.

At 526, the operating system may disable a motor associated with thesecond vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the second vehicle. For example, referringto FIG. 2, the third vehicle 214 (e.g., the yellow team) bumps into thefirst target 206 a that is illuminated red. Hence, the operating system202 may send a signal to the third vehicle 214 that disables the thirdvehicle 214 for a predetermined period of time.

At 528, the operating system may enable the motor associated with thesecond vehicle upon an expiration of a timer. For example, referring toFIG. 2, once a timer expires, the operating system 202 may send asubsequent signal that enables the third vehicle's 214 motor.

At 530, the operating system may activate a vibration device coupled tothe second vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the second vehicle. For example, referringto FIG. 2, when the third vehicle 214 (e.g., the yellow team) bumps intothe first target 206 a that is illuminated red, the operating system 202may send a signal to the third vehicle 214 that causes the third vehicle214 to vibrate and/or shake for a predetermined period of time.

At 532, the operating system may deactivate the vibration device coupledto the second vehicle upon an expiration of a timer. For example,referring to FIG. 2, a timer at the third vehicle 214 begins countingupon activation of the vibrator machine, and deactivates the vibratormachine at the expiration of the timer.

Referring to FIG. 5C, at 534, the operating system may illuminate afirst output device coupled to the first vehicle the first color for thefirst time period and a second output device coupled to the secondvehicle the second color for the first time period. For example,referring to FIG. 3A, during the first duration, the operating system202 may send a signal (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets306 a (e.g., illuminate red) and 306 b (e.g., illuminate blue) forillumination. The operating system 302 may also send one or more signalsto the first output device 318 to illuminate the color blue, and to thesecond output device 320 to illuminate red. Hence, for this round of thegame, the first vehicle 308 may try to reach the first target 306 aprior to the second vehicle 310 reaching the second target 306 b. may berewarded and displayed for the team that reaches the correct targetfirst.

At 536, the operating system may illuminate the first output devicecoupled to the first vehicle a third color for a second time period andthe second output device coupled to the second vehicle a fourth colorfor the second time period, the second time period being subsequent tothe first time period. For example, referring to FIG. 3B, during thesecond duration, the operating system 202 may send a signal (e.g.,wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets 306 a (e.g., illuminate blue)and 306 b (e.g., illuminate red) for illumination. The operating system302 may also send one or more signals to the first output device 318 toilluminate the color red, and to the second output device 320 toilluminate blue. Hence, for this round of the game, the first vehicle308 may try to reach the first target 306 a prior to the second vehicle310 reaching the second target 306 b. Each time the output device's 318,320 changes, the vehicles try to reach (e.g., interact, bump, etc.) atarget illuminated the same color as that particular vehicle's outputdevice. Reward points may be rewarded and displayed for the team thatreaches the correct target first.

At 538, the operating system may illuminate a third target the thirdcolor for the second time period and a fourth target the fourth colorfor the second time period. For example, referring to FIG. 3B, duringthe second duration, the operating system 202 may send a signal (e.g.,wired, wireless, etc.) to certain targets 306 a (e.g., illuminate blue)and 306 b (e.g., illuminate red) for illumination. The operating system302 may also send one or more signals to the first output device 318 toilluminate the color red, and to the second output device 320 toilluminate blue. Hence, for this round of the game, the first vehicle308 may try to reach the first target 306 a prior to the second vehicle310 reaching the second target 306 b. Each time the output device's 318,320 changes, the vehicles try to reach (e.g., interact, bump, etc.) atarget illuminated the same color as that particular vehicle's outputdevice. Reward points may be rewarded and displayed for the team thatreaches the correct target first.

At 540, the operating system may illuminate a strobe light during thefirst time period. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operatingsystem 102 may illuminate a strobe light when an illuminated target isbumped, emit a noise when one of the targets is bumped, and/oractivating a fog machine when an illuminated target is bumped.

At 542, the operating system may activate a fog machine during the firsttime period. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operating system 102may illuminate a strobe light when an illuminated target is bumped, emita noise when one of the targets is bumped, and/or activating a fogmachine when an illuminated target is bumped.

At 544, the operating system may activate a noise device during thefirst time period. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operatingsystem 102 may illuminate a strobe light when an illuminated target isbumped, emit a noise when one of the targets is bumped, and/oractivating a fog machine when an illuminated target is bumped.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual data flow diagram 600 illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 602. Theapparatus may be an operating system (e.g., operating system 102, 202,302, the apparatus 602′, 902/902′) in communication with a plurality oftargets 650 (e.g., the target 104, 106, 204, 206 a, 206 b, 206 c, 222 a,222 b, 304, 306, 950), a first vehicle 655 (e.g., first vehicle 208,second vehicle 110 a, 110 b, 310, 960, third vehicle 314, vehicle 108,408), and a second vehicle 660 (e.g., first vehicle 208, second vehicle110 a, 110 b, 310, 960, third vehicle 314, vehicle 108, 408). Theapparatus may include a reception component 604, a target illuminationcomponent 606, a target interaction component 608, a strobe component610, a fog machine component 612, a noise component 614, a vehicledetermination component 616, a counter component 618, a vibrationcomponent 620, a motor component 622, an output device illuminationcomponent 624, and a transmission component 626.

The target illumination component 606 may be configured to illuminate afirst target associated with a first vehicle for a first time period anda second target associated with a second vehicle for the first timeperiod. In certain aspects, a plurality of targets are located around aperimeter of the amusement ride. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may include an illumination device configured toemit a plurality of different colors. In certain other aspects, theplurality of targets located around the perimeter of the amusement ridemay include at least the first target and the second target. In certainother aspects, the first target may illuminated a first color for thefirst time period and the second target is illuminated a second colorfor the first time period. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may be coupled to an external platform via one ormore sensors located between each of the plurality of targets and theexternal platform. In certain other aspects, the first target includes afirst image displayed on a ground surface or a wall surface of theamusement ride and the second target includes a second image displayedon displayed on the ground surface or the wall surface of the amusementride. For example, the target illumination component 606 may generate asignal indicating which targets illuminate which color, and send thesignal to the transmission component 626. The transmission component 626may send the signal to the targets 650.

The reception component 604 may be configured to receive video dataassociated with the first vehicle 655 and the second vehicle 660. Thereception component 604 may send the video data to one or more othercomponents of the apparatus 602.

The reception component 604 may be configured to receive a sensor signalfrom the first vehicle 655 or the second vehicle 660 during the firstinteraction with the first target. The reception component 604 may sendthe sensor signal to one or more other components of the apparatus 602.

The reception component 604 may be configured to receive at least onefirst position signal from the first vehicle 655 and at least one secondposition signal from the second vehicle 660. The reception component 604may send the position information to one or more other components of theapparatus 602.

The reception component 604 may be configured to receive a first signalfrom a first sensor associated with the first target and a second signalfrom a second sensor associated with the second target. In certainaspects, the first signal from the first sensor associated with thefirst target may be received prior to the second signal from the secondsensor associated with the second target in determining the firstvehicle interacted with the first target. The reception component 604may send the first signal and/or second signal to one or more othercomponents of the apparatus 602.

The target interaction component 608 may be configured to determine thata first interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target by determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle 655when the sensor signal is associated with the first vehicle 655. Thetarget interaction component 608 may be configured to determine that afirst interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target by determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the second vehicle 660when the sensor signal is associated with the second vehicle 660.Information related to the first interaction and the second interactionmay be sent the target interaction component 608 to one or morecomponents of the apparatus 602.

The vehicle determination component 616 may be configured to determinewhether the first interaction with the first target is performed by thefirst vehicle 655 or the second vehicle 660. Information related to thevehicle interaction may be sent to one or more other component of theapparatus 602.

The counter component 618 may be configured to increment a first counterassociated with the first vehicle upon determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle 655.

The motor component 622 may be configured to disable a motor associatedwith the second vehicle 660 upon determining that the first interactionwith the first target is performed by the first vehicle 655. The motorcomponent 622 may be configured to generate a signal that that is sentto the transmission component 626, and deactivates the motor at thesecond vehicle 660 when received from the transmission component 626.

The motor component 622 may be configured to enable the motor associatedwith the second vehicle upon an expiration of a timer. The motorcomponent 622 may be configured to generate a signal at the expirationof the timer that that is sent to the transmission component 626, andenables the motor at the second vehicle 660 when received from thetransmission component 626.

The motor component 622 may be configured to disable a motor associatedwith the second vehicle 660 upon determining that the first interactionwith the first target is performed by the second vehicle 660. The motorcomponent 622 may be configured to generate a signal that that is sentto the transmission component 626, and disables the motor at the secondvehicle 660.

The motor component 622 may be configured to enable the motor associatedwith the second vehicle 660 upon an expiration of a timer. The motorcomponent 622 may be configured to generate a signal at the expirationof the timer that that is sent to the transmission component 626, andenables the motor at the second vehicle 660 when received from thetransmission component 626.

The vibration component 620 may be configured to activate a vibrationdevice coupled to the second vehicle 660 upon determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the second vehicle660. The vibration component 620 may be configured to generate a signalat the expiration of the timer that that is sent to the transmissioncomponent 626, and enables the vibration device at the second vehicle660 when received from the transmission component 626.

The vibration component 620 may be configured to deactivate thevibration device coupled to the second vehicle 660 upon an expiration ofa timer. The vibration component 620 may be configured to generate asignal at the expiration of the timer that that is sent to thetransmission component 626, and disables the vibration device at thesecond vehicle 660 when received from the transmission component 626.

The output device illumination component 624 may be configured toilluminate a first output device coupled to the first vehicle 655 thefirst color for the first time period and a second output device coupledto the second vehicle 660 the second color for the first time period.The output device illumination component 624 may be configured togenerate a signal that indicates the colors for the first output deviceand the second output device and is sent to the transmission component626. The first output device and the second output device may emit theirrespective colors upon receipt of the signal from the transmissioncomponent 626.

The output device illumination component 624 may be configured toilluminate the first output device coupled to the first vehicle 655 athird color for a second time period and the second output devicecoupled to the second vehicle 660 a fourth color for the second timeperiod. In certain aspects, the second time period may be subsequent tothe first time period. The output device illumination component 624 maybe configured to generate a signal that indicates the colors for thefirst output device and the second output device and is sent to thetransmission component 626. The first output device and the secondoutput device may emit their respective colors upon receipt of thesignal from the transmission component 626.

The target illumination component 606 may be configured to illuminate athird target 650 the third color for the second time period and a fourthtarget 650 the fourth color for the second time period. The targetillumination component 606 may be configured to generate a signal thatindicates the colors for the targets and is sent to the transmissioncomponent 626. The third target and the fourth target may emit theirrespective colors upon receipt of the signal from the transmissioncomponent 626.

The strobe component 610 may be configured to illuminate a strobe lightduring the first time period. The fog machine component 612 may beconfigured to activate a fog machine during the first time period. Thenoise component 614 may be configured to activate a noise device duringthe first time period.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts of FIGS. 5A-5C.As such, each block in the aforementioned flowcharts of FIGS. 5A-5C maybe performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more ofthose components. The components may be one or more hardware componentsspecifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm,implemented by a processor configured to perform the statedprocesses/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium forimplementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 602′ employing a processing system 714.The processing system 714 may be implemented with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 724. The bus 724 may include any numberof interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system 714 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 724 links together various circuits including oneor more processors and/or hardware components, represented by theprocessor 704, the components 604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618,620, 622, 624, 626 and the computer-readable medium/memory 706. The bus724 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources,peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, whichare well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described anyfurther.

The processing system 714 may be coupled to a transceiver 710. Thetransceiver 710 is coupled to one or more antennas 720. The transceiver710 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus overa transmission medium. The transceiver 710 receives a signal from theone or more antennas 720, extracts information from the received signal,and provides the extracted information to the processing system 714,specifically the reception component 604. In addition, the transceiver710 receives information from the processing system 714, specificallythe transmission component 626, and based on the received information,generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 720. Theprocessing system 714 includes a processor 704 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 706. The processor 704 is responsiblefor general processing, including the execution of software stored onthe computer-readable medium/memory 706. The software, when executed bythe processor 704, causes the processing system 714 to perform thevarious functions described supra for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable medium/memory 706 may also be used for storing datathat is manipulated by the processor 704 when executing software. Theprocessing system 714 further includes at least one of the components604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 622, 624, 626. Thecomponents may be software components running in the processor 704,resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 706, one or morehardware components coupled to the processor 704, or some combinationthereof.

In certain configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wirelesscommunication may include means for illuminating a first targetassociated with a first vehicle for a first time period and a secondtarget associated with a second vehicle for the first time period. Incertain aspects, a plurality of targets are located around a perimeterof the amusement ride. In certain other aspects, each of the pluralityof targets may include an illumination device configured to emit aplurality of different colors. In certain other aspects, the pluralityof targets located around the perimeter of the amusement ride mayinclude at least the first target and the second target. In certainother aspects, the first target may illuminated a first color for thefirst time period and the second target is illuminated a second colorfor the first time period. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may be coupled to an external platform via one ormore sensors located between each of the plurality of targets and theexternal platform. In certain other aspects, the first target includes afirst image displayed on a ground surface or a wall surface of theamusement ride and the second target includes a second image displayedon displayed on the ground surface or the wall surface of the amusementride. In certain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ forwireless communication may include means for receiving video dataassociated with the first vehicle and the second vehicle. In certainother configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communicationmay include means for receiving a sensor signal from the first vehicleor the second vehicle during the first interaction with the firsttarget. In certain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ forwireless communication may include means for receiving at least onefirst position signal from the first vehicle and at least one secondposition signal from the second vehicle. In certain otherconfigurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication mayinclude means for receiving a first signal from a first sensorassociated with the first target and a second signal from a secondsensor associated with the second target. In certain aspects, the firstsignal from the first sensor associated with the first target may bereceived prior to the second signal from the second sensor associatedwith the second target in determining the first vehicle interacted withthe first target. In certain other configurations, the apparatus602/602′ for wireless communication may include means for determiningthat a first interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means fordetermining that a first interaction with the first target occurs beforea second interaction with the second target by determining that thefirst interaction with the first target is performed by the firstvehicle when the sensor signal is associated with the first vehicle. Incertain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wirelesscommunication may include means for determining that a first interactionwith the first target occurs before a second interaction with the secondtarget by determining that the first interaction with the first targetis performed by the second vehicle when the sensor signal is associatedwith the second vehicle. In certain other configurations, the apparatus602/602′ for wireless communication may include means for determiningwhether the first interaction with the first target is performed by thefirst vehicle or the second vehicle. In certain other configurations,the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means forincrementing a first counter associated with the first vehicle upondetermining that the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means fordisabling a motor associated with the second vehicle upon determiningthat the first interaction with the first target is performed by thefirst vehicle. In certain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′for wireless communication may include means for enabling the motorassociated with the second vehicle upon an expiration of a timer. Incertain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wirelesscommunication may include means for disabling a motor associated withthe second vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the second vehicle. In certain otherconfigurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication mayinclude means for enabling the motor associated with the second vehicleupon an expiration of a timer. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means foractivating a vibration device coupled to the second vehicle upondetermining that the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the second vehicle. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means fordeactivating the vibration device coupled to the second vehicle upon anexpiration of a timer. In certain other configurations, the apparatus602/602′ for wireless communication may include means for illuminating afirst output device coupled to the first vehicle the first color for thefirst time period and a second output device coupled to the secondvehicle the second color for the first time period. In certain otherconfigurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication mayinclude means for illuminating the first output device coupled to thefirst vehicle a third color for a second time period and the secondoutput device coupled to the second vehicle a fourth color for thesecond time period, the second time period being subsequent to the firsttime period. In certain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ forwireless communication may include means for illuminating a third targetthe third color for the second time period and a fourth target thefourth color for the second time period. In certain otherconfigurations, the apparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication mayinclude means for illuminating a strobe light during the first timeperiod. In certain other configurations, the apparatus 602/602′ forwireless communication may include means for activating a fog machineduring the first time period. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 602/602′ for wireless communication may include means foractivating a noise device during the first time period. Theaforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned componentsof the apparatus 602 and/or the processing system 714 of the apparatus602′ configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementionedmeans.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 of a method of operating an amusement ride.The method may be performed by an operating system (e.g., operatingsystem 102, 202, 302, the apparatus 602/602′, 902/902′).

At 802, the operating system may illuminate at least one target of theplurality of targets. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the operatingsystem 102 may send a signal (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) to certaintargets 106 for illumination. The targets 106 may be illuminated using,e.g., a light emitting device (not shown) that may be located in, on, ornear the target 106. The light emitting device may emit one or moredifferent colors of light that. For example, the light emitting devicemay include, e.g., one or more light emitting diodes. The targets 106may be illuminated for a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second, 5seconds, 10 seconds, etc.), and the object may be to beat the otherteams to one of the illuminated targets 106. The illuminated targets 106may be illuminated any color, and either the same color or differentcolors without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Inthe particular example illustrated in FIG. 1, the targets 106 areilluminated the same color, and both teams race to bump into one or moreof the illuminated targets 106.

At 804, the operating system may determine that a first vehicle of aplurality of vehicles interacts with the at least one target whileilluminated. For example, referring to FIG. 1, there may be various waysin which the operating system 102 is able to determine which vehicle orwhich team interacted with the illuminated target 106 in order increasea counter on the display 112 associated with that team or vehicle. Incertain implementations, the operating system 102 may receive a sensorsignal from the second vehicle 110 b associated with the second team anda signal from a sensor on the target 106 that was bumped. The sensor mayinclude a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that sends anidentifier associated with second vehicle 110 b in the second team thatis received by a receiver device at the target 106. The RFID informationmay then be sent to the operating system 102. In certain aspects, theoperating system 102 may access a look-up table that correlates the RFIDidentifiers to the various vehicles on each team. One or more points maythen be rewarded to the team and/or vehicle associated with the RFIDidentifier received by the target during an interaction (e.g., bump) bythe second vehicle 110 b. In certain other implementations the operatingsystem 102 may include an image device (not shown), such as a camera,that may be used to track the position of each of the vehicles 108, 110a, 110 b. The operating system 102 may then use the position informationdetermined from the visual signals received from the image device todetermine to which team or vehicle 110 b to reward point(s). In certainother implementations, each vehicle 108, 110 a, 110 b may include aposition sensor (e.g., a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a speedometer, apositioning sensor, a camera, or a proximity sensor, just to name a few)that may collect position information about its particular position thatis sent (e.g., wired, wirelessly, etc.) to the operating system 102. Theoperating system 102 may then use the position information determinedfrom the position signals received from the position sensor on each ofthe vehicles 108, 110 a, 110 b to determine to which team or vehicle 110b to reward point(s).

At 806, the operating system may increment a counter associated with thefirst vehicle upon determining that the first vehicle interacts with theat least one target while illuminated. For example, referring to FIG. 1,there may be various ways in which the operating system 102 is able todetermine which vehicle or which team interacted with the illuminatedtarget 106 in order increase a counter on the display 112 associatedwith that team or vehicle, as described supra.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual data flow diagram 900 illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 902. Theapparatus may be an operating system (e.g., operating system 102, 202,302, the apparatus 602/602′, 902′) in communication with a plurality oftargets 950 (e.g., the target 104, 106, 204, 206 a, 206 b, 206 c, 222 a,222 b, 304, 306, 650), a first vehicle 955 (e.g., first vehicle 208,second vehicle 110 a, 110 b, 310, 660, third vehicle 314, vehicle 108,408), and a second vehicle 960 (e.g., first vehicle 208, second vehicle110 a, 110 b, 310, 660, third vehicle 314, vehicle 108, 408). Theapparatus may include a reception component 904, a target illuminationcomponent 906, a target interaction component 908, a vehicledetermination component 910, a counter component 912, and a transmissioncomponent 914.

The target illumination component 906 may be configured to illuminate afirst target associated with a first vehicle for a first time period anda second target associated with a second vehicle for the first timeperiod. In certain aspects, a plurality of targets are located around aperimeter of the amusement ride. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may include an illumination device configured toemit a plurality of different colors. In certain other aspects, theplurality of targets located around the perimeter of the amusement ridemay include at least the first target and the second target. In certainother aspects, the first target may illuminated a first color for thefirst time period and the second target is illuminated a second colorfor the first time period. In certain other aspects, each of theplurality of targets may be coupled to an external platform via one ormore sensors located between each of the plurality of targets and theexternal platform. In certain other aspects, the first target includes afirst image displayed on a ground surface or a wall surface of theamusement ride and the second target includes a second image displayedon displayed on the ground surface or the wall surface of the amusementride. For example, the target illumination component 906 may generate asignal indicating which targets illuminate which color, and send thesignal to the transmission component 914. The transmission component 914may send the signal to the targets 950.

The reception component 904 may be configured to receive video dataassociated with the first vehicle 955 and the second vehicle 960. Thereception component 904 may send the video data to one or more othercomponents of the apparatus 902.

The reception component 904 may be configured to receive a sensor signalfrom the first vehicle 955 or the second vehicle 960 during the firstinteraction with the first target. The reception component 904 may sendthe sensor signal to one or more other components of the apparatus 902.

The reception component 904 may be configured to receive at least onefirst position signal from the first vehicle 955 and at least one secondposition signal from the second vehicle 960. The reception component 904may send the position information to one or more other components of theapparatus 902.

The reception component 904 may be configured to receive a first signalfrom a first sensor associated with the first target and a second signalfrom a second sensor associated with the second target. In certainaspects, the first signal from the first sensor associated with thefirst target may be received prior to the second signal from the secondsensor associated with the second target in determining the firstvehicle interacted with the first target. The reception component 904may send the first signal and/or second signal to one or more othercomponents of the apparatus 902.

The target interaction component 908 may be configured to determine thata first interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target by determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle 955when the sensor signal is associated with the first vehicle 955. Thetarget interaction component 908 may be configured to determine that afirst interaction with the first target occurs before a secondinteraction with the second target by determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the second vehicle 960when the sensor signal is associated with the second vehicle 960.Information related to the first interaction and the second interactionmay be sent the target interaction component 908 to one or morecomponents of the apparatus 902.

The vehicle determination component 910 may be configured to determinewhether the first interaction with the first target is performed by thefirst vehicle 955 or the second vehicle 960. Information related to thevehicle interaction may be sent to one or more other component of theapparatus 902.

The counter component 912 may be configured to increment a first counterassociated with the first vehicle upon determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle 955.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 8. Assuch, each block in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 8 may beperformed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more ofthose components. The components may be one or more hardware componentsspecifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm,implemented by a processor configured to perform the statedprocesses/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium forimplementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 902′ employing a processing system 1014.The processing system 1014 may be implemented with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 1024. The bus 1024 may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system 1014 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 1024 links together various circuits including oneor more processors and/or hardware components, represented by theprocessor 1004, the components 904, 906, 908, 910, 912, 914 and thecomputer-readable medium/memory 1006. The bus 1024 may also link variousother circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators,and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, andtherefore, will not be described any further.

The processing system 1014 may be coupled to a transceiver 1010. Thetransceiver 1010 is coupled to one or more antennas 1020. Thetransceiver 1010 provides a means for communicating with various otherapparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1010 receives asignal from the one or more antennas 1020, extracts information from thereceived signal, and provides the extracted information to theprocessing system 1014, specifically the reception component 904. Inaddition, the transceiver 1010 receives information from the processingsystem 1014, specifically the transmission component 914, and based onthe received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one ormore antennas 1020. The processing system 1014 includes a processor 1004coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1006. The processor 1004 isresponsible for general processing, including the execution of softwarestored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1006. The software, whenexecuted by the processor 1004, causes the processing system 1014 toperform the various functions described supra for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1006 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 1004 when executingsoftware. The processing system 1014 further includes at least one ofthe components 904, 906, 908, 910, 912, 914. The components may besoftware components running in the processor 1004, resident/stored inthe computer readable medium/memory 1006, one or more hardwarecomponents coupled to the processor 1004, or some combination thereof.

In certain configurations, the apparatus 902/902′ for wirelesscommunication includes means for illuminating at least one target of theplurality of targets. In certain other configurations, the apparatus902/902′ for wireless communication includes means for determining thata first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles interacts with the at leastone target while illuminated. In certain other configurations, theapparatus 902/902′ for wireless communication includes means forincrementing a counter associated with the first vehicle upondetermining that the first vehicle interacts with the at least onetarget while illuminated. The aforementioned means may be one or more ofthe aforementioned components of the apparatus 902 and/or the processingsystem 1014 of the apparatus 902′ configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” andthe like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating an amusement ride,comprising: illuminating a first target associated with a first vehiclefor a first time period and a second target associated with a secondvehicle for the first time period; determining that a first interactionwith the first target occurs before a second interaction with the secondtarget; determining whether the first interaction with the first targetis performed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle; andincrementing a first counter associated with the first vehicle upondetermining that the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: disabling a motor associated with the second vehicle upondetermining that the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the second vehicle; and enabling the motor associated withthe second vehicle upon an expiration of a timer.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising: activating a vibration device coupled to thesecond vehicle upon determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the second vehicle; and deactivating thevibration device coupled to the second vehicle upon an expiration of atimer.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: disabling a motorassociated with the second vehicle upon determining that the firstinteraction with the first target is performed by the first vehicle; andenabling the motor associated with the second vehicle upon an expirationof a timer.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprises: receiving videodata associated with the first vehicle and the second vehicle, whereinthe determining whether the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle is based at leastin part on the video data.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a sensor signal from the first vehicle or the second vehicleduring the first interaction with the first target, wherein thedetermining whether the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle comprises:determining that the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle when the sensor signal is associated withthe first vehicle; and determining that the first interaction with thefirst target is performed by the second vehicle when the sensor signalis associated with the second vehicle.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving at least one first position signal from the firstvehicle and at least one second position signal from the second vehicle,wherein the determining whether the first interaction with the firsttarget is performed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle is basedat least in part on one or more of the at least one first positionsignal or the at least one second position signal.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: a plurality of targets are located around a perimeterof the amusement ride, each of the plurality of targets includes anillumination device configured to emit a plurality of different colors,the plurality of targets located around the perimeter of the amusementride includes at least the first target and the second target, and thefirst target is illuminated a first color for the first time period andthe second target is illuminated a second color for the first timeperiod.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality oftargets are coupled to an external platform via one or more sensorslocated between each of the plurality of targets and the externalplatform.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving afirst signal from a first sensor associated with the first target and asecond signal from a second sensor associated with the second target,wherein the determining that the first interaction with the first targetoccurs before the second interaction with the second target comprises:determining that the first signal from the first sensor associated withthe first target is received prior to the second signal from the secondsensor associated with the second target.
 11. The method of claim 8,further comprising: illuminating a first output device coupled to thefirst vehicle the first color for the first time period and a secondoutput device coupled to the second vehicle the second color for thefirst time period; illuminating the first output device coupled to thefirst vehicle a third color for a second time period and the secondoutput device coupled to the second vehicle a fourth color for thesecond time period, the second time period being subsequent to the firsttime period; and illuminating a third target the third color for thesecond time period and a fourth target the fourth color for the secondtime period.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first targetincludes a first image displayed on a ground surface or a wall surfaceof the amusement ride and the second target includes a second imagedisplayed on displayed on the ground surface or the wall surface of theamusement ride.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprisingilluminating a strobe light during the first time period.
 14. The methodof claim 1, further comprising activating a fog machine during the firsttime period.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising activating anoise device during the first time period.
 16. A method of operating anamusement ride that includes a plurality of targets, comprising:illuminating at least one target of the plurality of targets;determining that a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles interactswith the at least one target while illuminated; and incrementing acounter associated with the first vehicle upon determining that thefirst vehicle interacts with the at least one target while illuminated.17. An apparatus for operating an amusement ride, comprising: a memory;and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:illuminate a first target associated with a first vehicle for a firsttime period and a second target associated with a second vehicle for thefirst time period; determine that a first interaction with the firsttarget occurs before a second interaction with the second target;determine whether the first interaction with the first target isperformed by the first vehicle or the second vehicle; and increment afirst counter associated with the first vehicle upon determining thatthe first interaction with the first target is performed by the firstvehicle.
 18. An apparatus for operating an amusement ride that includesa plurality of targets, comprising: a memory; and at least one processorcoupled to the memory and configured to: illuminate at least one targetof the plurality of targets; determine that a first vehicle of aplurality of vehicles interacts with the at least one target whileilluminated; and increment a counter associated with the first vehicleupon determining that the first vehicle interacts with the at least onetarget while illuminated.